Warning: This is a bit of a rant about a really shite film. Not expecting anyone to actually read it. Just need to get it out of my system.
I thought I'd watch a movie last night and Netflix told me Atlas with Jennifer Lopez was Number 1 in its films this bank holiday weekend. I like SciFi and a bit of blockbuster action. So I watched it.
God in heaven it is woefully awful.
I've seen bad films before but this takes the biscuit. I should really have turned it off and gone to bed but it was so awful I became kind of mesmerised at how the cast and crew could actually live with themselves after making something so cringe worthingly awful that even an untalented A-Level art student could have done better (especially with the $100 million budget).
• The irony of the fact that it tried to suggest humanity is deeply flawed while simultaneously exposing the worst money grubbing and morally vacuous side of Hollywood.
• The sick inducing Hollywood sentimentally taken to extremes with zero self awareness.
• The blatant plagiarism of other storylines, action sequences and costumes/ space ships/ mechanical suits etc.
But the worst part - the absolute WORST part was the blatant sexism!!!
Why am I surprised by this??!! Hollywood is of course the pinnacle of male greed, entitlement and appalling behaviour. Of course it's sexist! Every movie ever made by men is sexist- up to and including the dreadful Barbie.
But still. Atlas takes sexism, supercharges it and serves it up without even bothering to try to disguise it in any way.
• Jennifer Lopez plays an unnecessarily hammed up hysterical woman. All the men are calm and collected while she flaps and gets emotional.
• They gave her wild hair to further make the point she's hysterical.
• JoLo must be too middle aged now to be anything other than an hysterical women but they still make her wear a tight vest and baby oil her cleavage, also include plenty of shots of her backside in tight leggings, because, well that's what action women look it isn't it - sex ready.
• She's all of a flap trying to work the mechanical suit thingy. Because only men and butch looking military women can mange it. But it's ok, theres an AI man along to help her navigate the user manual. But she refuses to read it and has to be lightly scolded by the AI man for not taking the time to do things properly (because men always read instructions don't they? Ffs).
• She has to be won over by the AI man in order to win the day - she in fact has to 'sync' with him, thus becoming a new half woman half male AI entity. Because of course she couldn't have managed to do anything useful without becoming at least half man.
• The AI male character has to continually calm her down, adapt to 'using her language' to get through to her. And of course he's always right. Eventually she starts listening to him and things start to go better when she does.
• The men all have huge guns which are so obviously phallic it's actually beyond pathetic.
And this is Netflix's first 'female lead' movie. What the actual F? I mean I didn't expect them to do some kind of feminist tale, but they could at least have had the decency not to serve us up a female lead in a movie so obviously dripping in knowing misogyny.
I'm disappointed in Jennifer Lopez for being so devoid of values and so obviously money grubbing. And I'm disappointed in Hollywood for being so disgusting while portraying themselves as bastions of moral goodness, lefty politics and #metoo supporting feminism. It really does show them all up as the complete and utter frauds and charlatans which they all so clearly are.
I'm thinking of cancelling my Netflix subscription but obviously that is such a pathetic protest it seems pointless. Any other ideas on protest activity welcome!